Chapter Twenty-One THE SCOUTS HAVE A NARROW ESCAPE

 “General, the men are getting restless. They want to get into action and it seems to me that we ought to hurry our plans for the attack,” said the Old Soldier. The two little officers were sitting at the tiny table in front of the General’s tent.

“Yes, I believe you’re right,” answered the General thoughtfully. “The plans for the attack are almost ready, but I would like to get some more information about the wild men. I’d like to know just how many are guarding the fort, what sort of arms they have and a lot of other details. The Turk has been able to get much valuable information, but the grass is so tall around the fort that he has not been able to get very near in the airplane, so I’m afraid I’ll have to send the scouts¹ out for the facts I want.”

“That’s mighty² dangerous,” said the Old Soldier, stroking his beard. “The jungle is full of the Saboes—they are swarming³ all through the grass, thicker than ants on a chocolate drop.”

“Yes, I know it’s dangerous, but I believe the Cowboy and the Indian can get through unseen and bring back the information I want,” the General said. “Either one of the little fellows is at home in the woods and grass. They are both pastmasters in covering up their tracks. Why, I believe the Indian could walk through a lady’s powder box without ever leaving a single track,” and the General said it so earnestly there was no doubt but that he spoke⁴ the truth.

Turning to the guard that stood near his tent, the General ordered him to bring the Indian and the Cowboy. “Tell them it is important and that I wish them to report at once.”

In a few minutes the two scouts appeared and, clicking their tiny heels together, they saluted⁵ in the most approved military fashion.

“You sent for us, sir?” said the Cowboy.

“Yes,” answered the General, looking seriously at the sturdy little men. “I have a piece of work for you to do. First I want to tell you that it is mighty risky—in fact, it is extremely dangerous. I will not send you unless you are willing to go—you shall choose.”

“We are ready to go,” answered the little scouts quietly, and their loyalty⁶ touched the General greatly.

“I want you to go to the wild men’s fort and get all the information you can,” said the General. “Find out how many men they have, what sort of weapons they use, note the condition of their fort and get some idea of the ground beyond the fort. Get all the facts you can and report to me as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir,” answered the scouts and, saluting⁷, they hurried to their tent, where they buckled⁸ on their tiny pistols. Next they each secured a supply of dried minnow and half a boiled bean, which they stuffed into their pockets.

They slipped quietly out of camp and after a long and tiresome⁹ trip they finally drew near to the wild men’s fort. They could hear the voices of the wild men now and then and the two Teenie Weenies were forced to steal along with the greatest care. Presently they crawled up to a place quite near the fort where they could see the wild men every now and then through the long grass. The scouts watched the wild men for several hours and it was quite late before the little fellows could find a chance to crawl away safely and unseen.

Several times on their way back to the Teenie Weenie camp the scouts were forced to hide under leaves and dry grass to keep from being discovered, and once they had to lie for almost an hour in a hollow stick, as several wild men stopped near them to rest.

“It be heap much dark soon,” grunted¹⁰ the Indian as he peered through the grass at the sky.

“We can never get back to camp before night and we couldn’t possibly get through this jungle in the dark, so we’ve got to find some place to spend the night,” whispered the Cowboy.

The two Teenie Weenies found a deserted¹¹ bird’s nest in a bush near by, and, climbing up the bush, they soon made themselves comfortable for the night.

 

Early in the morning the little scouts were awakened¹² by voices, and looking over the edge of the nest, they saw several wild men coming towards the bush. The wild men stopped beneath the bush, where they soon made a fire and cooked pieces of frog ham for their breakfast.

The two Teenie Weenies had eaten what little food they had brought with them the day before and as they smelled the delicious meat cooking it made them as hungry as bears. There were too many of the Saboes for the two scouts to fight, so they could do nothing but lie quiet until the wild men had gone. In a short time the wild men finished their breakfast and after talking in their strange language for a few minutes they hurried away.

When the wild men had disappeared into the jungle of tall grass near by, the two scouts carefully climbed out of the nest and set off in the direction of the Teenie Weenie camp. Several times they had to hide behind sticks and leaves when the wild men passed near them, and once, three of the savage¹³ little fellows came so close to the spot where the scouts lay hidden that they thought they would surely be discovered. It was almost evening before the Cowboy and the Indian reached camp and the little fellows reported at once to the General. They gave the Commander of the Teenie Weenie army such valuable news that he at once called in his staff for a council of war.

The little officers talked for a long time and when they finally came out of the General’s tent, it was very plain to see that something was about to happen. Officers dashed about the camp giving orders, the Doctor and the two nurses busied themselves around the tiny hospital, while Paddy Pinn spent much time with his Teenie Weenie cannon¹⁴.

Three of the soldiers carried two big firecrackers into the tunnel the mole¹⁵ had made. In fact, everyone was busy and the whole camp teemed¹⁶ with excitement, wondering as to what was to happen next.

 

1 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

2 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

3 swarming   

密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。
• The beach is swarming with bathers. 海滩满是海水浴的人。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

7 saluting   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• 'Thank you kindly, sir,' replied Long John, again saluting. “万分感谢，先生。”高个子约翰说着又行了个礼。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• He approached the young woman and, without saluting, began at once to converse with her. 他走近那年青女郎，马上就和她攀谈起来了，连招呼都不打。 来自辞典例句

8 buckled   

a. 有带扣的

参考例句：

• She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
• The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。

9 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

10 grunted   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

11 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

12 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

14 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

15 mole   

n.胎块；痣；克分子

参考例句：

• She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
• The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。

16 teemed   

v.充满( teem的过去式和过去分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The pond teemed with tadpoles. 池子里有很多蝌蚪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ideas of new plays and short stories teemed in his head. 他的脑海里装满了有关新的剧本和短篇小说的构思。 来自辞典例句